NEW PALTZ – One of the Hudson Valley’s preeminent economists says he is not sure development of Las Vegas-style casinos in New York, like the one to be built in Sullivan County, will boost the economy.
Gerald Benjamin, the founder and director of the Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz, said while the state has been waiting for casinos for a long time, it may be “a little behind the curve,” although he hopes that is not the case.
“Some studies I have been shown say that gambling activity is not a growing industry; it is an industry that is redistributed,” Benjamin said. “The customers remove from one location to the next. It is not an increased encatchment of customers. If that is the case and we are developing gambling in Massachusetts and there is already established gambling in Connecticut and New Jersey, we may be coming into the party a little late in the game.”
Sullivan County is counting on the casino and resort to be the catalyst for additional economic growth and development of both ancillary and unrelated businesses.
